Scientific racism

Article reads: In his discussion of race in The Descent of Man (1871) he [Darwin] opposed the notion that different racial groups were separate species and instead suggested they could be understood as “sub-species.” Nonetheless, Darwin’s brilliant insight into the mechanism of natural selection, producing what Herbert Spencer called “the survival of the fittest” seemed tailor-made for those determined to argue for racial hierarchy. As did the tempting notion that human beings could be ranked in terms of their similarity to apes.